Killing Me Softly
by Shadow Sanctuary
Summary: Two fated lovers could be ripped apart and become mortal enemies...all because of a lethal psychological disorder. How can a loving relationship survive Yami Yugi's self-hatred?
1. Ravenous Rituals

Ch. 1: Ravenous Rituals

Sunken amethyst eyes gazed at the contents of the mirror, terribly displeased by the image concealed within the glassy depths.

"I've barely consumed anything these past few days, and my cheeks _still_ look as if they've had animal lard injected into them!" complained the self-conscious millennium spirit, exhaling dramatically. "Why? Why can't I get rid of this infernal baby fat that plagues me?"

Keeping his weary orbs plastered to his reflection, Yami turned to the side. With great determination, he forced his hands to place themselves around his waist. Trembling fingertips of his pinched at the flesh stretched over his lower body, searching for any excess inches of flab. Methodically, Pharaoh measured the width of himself, occasionally biting his lower lip in concentration. His vision was blurred, his legs felt about ready to fold underneath him, his breathing was more shallow now than it had ever been, but none of these minor setbacks fazed him. Not one bit. All he cared to do at the moment was critically scan the contours of his frame, attempting to find a way to eliminate every imperfection he saw. 

Happening across a slight mound of tissue located by his hips, the Egyptian male frowned. "Damned trouble spot." cursed the zombie-like individual, molding his features into that of a formidable scowl. "Since this whale blubber refuses to disappear from me, I guess I'm stuck without having dinner again tonight."

Dropping his limbs to his sides in disgust, he contemplated the last time he actually allowed himself to consume a meal. The wheels of his mind turned painfully, trying to recall how long ago it had been since he met the basic requirements of nutrition. He had no real concept of time itself, since his reckless eating habits had caused most of his long-term memory to deteriorate. Five days? Possibly more than that? Could it be any less than that particular estimate? Maybe it was, and maybe it wasn't. Strictly speaking, it made no real difference to him if he ever ate another morsel of food again. Yami would see to it that the imagined pouch around his hips was removed from his frame altogether, no matter what the cost would be for taking up such a detrimental task.

There was always some sort of terrible little flaw he wished to get rid of, another position on his already trim structure that he desperately wanted to save from the blemish of excess padding. Sickly obsessed with his appearance alone, the millennium spirit formed his vanity into a ravenous ritual. This deadly practice of deprivation of daily essentials had greatly damaged his senses, compelling him to treat mirrors like legions of small gods. Off and on throughout any given day, he would drag himself in front of one of the silvery masters, peering into its glossy surface almost in order to pay homage to his inanimate deity. It was an idol that was cruel and unloving, showing the purple-eyed person a dreadful series of shortcomings that never seemed to have a remedy. The pictures trapped within the core of the polished exteriors never ceased to be distorted, unrealistic, and highly lethal to Yami's self-esteem. In truth, the prodigious ruler of Thebes secretly suffered from one single defect in his personality: his impressive reputation was an extravagant illusion, and, more horribly than that, he was his own worst enemy.


	2. Till Death Do Us Part

Chapter Two: 'Till Death Do Us Part  
  
"What are you doing, Yami-san?"  
  
With hazy vision, the millennium spirit tried to connect the voice he was hearing to some sort of tangible identity.  
  
/Who.? / Yami's mind asked groggily, his brow furrowed in confusion.  
  
With his attention diverted from the glassy god before him, he executed an awkward turn. Dreary violet orbs blinked several times, attempting to achieve an adequate focus of the individual in front of them. Agonizingly, a solid image began to take shape, and an expression of abject terror swept across the Egyptian's visage.  
  
/Oh, gods, no./ thought the purple-eyed person, feeling the pulse of his heartbeat quicken. Swallowing back the sensation of cold fear overwhelming him, the male with tri-colored hair stood silent. /I can't let anyone see me doing this, let alone him./  
  
"Koibito?" the voice tried again, still innocent sounding, but burdened by the emotion of concern. "Aren't you going to answer me?"  
  
/How can I? / the amethyst-eyed person asked himself, struggling in his head about how to approach the present situation. /What if he was watching me the entire time? What if I'm subject to interrogation now? Could it be that he might know that I'm--/  
  
"Why aren't you talking to me? Did I do something to upset you? If I did something wrong, I'm not quite sure what it was, but if you'd just let me make it up to you-"  
  
"How long have you been standing there?" questioned Yami suddenly, his tone sharpened by the underlying blade of anxiety.  
  
"I just got finished doing laundry, and the clothes needed to be put away, so I-"  
  
"I didn't ask you for your history on being a housewife!" snapped the wiry male, frustrated with the frivolous response he received. "I just wanted to know how long you've been there! Is that too difficult of a request for you to fulfill, Yugi?"  
  
Stunned by his counterpart's bitter accent, the small boy's bottom lip started to quiver.  
  
"No, Spirit, it's not." Mutou said in a choked whisper, hanging his head in a dejected manner. "I'm sorry. I just walked in the bed room a few seconds ago, if that proves to be more useful to you."  
  
Breathing a sigh of relief, the millennium spirit felt the cold sweat on is forehead evaporate. /Good. He didn't know what I was doing and showed up here on account of household chores. / A ghost of a grin possessed his mouth, stretching the corners of protruding flesh into deranged delight. /He truly doesn't suspect a thing. / Thankful that this confrontation ended in a mere misunderstanding, Yami regained his senses. Gliding over to his hikari's side, he tenderly wrapped his arms around the petite child's frame.  
  
/He's so tiny compared to me./ observed the taller individual, embracing his high school equivalent lovingly. /It must be nice to eat what ever you want and never gain a pound. Ah, that's the gift of the teenage metabolism, though. Kids Yugi's age can live off of Starburst and still have enough energy to run a ten-mile marathon. / For some strange reason or another, the purple-eyed pharaoh felt a twinge of jealousy. /Lucky little thing.I wish I could eat a bag of Oreos and lose weight at the same time. How come I have to undergo weeks of suffering for the perfect body, while he just has to stand here and--/  
  
Contorting his features into a terrible look of disgust, he glowered down at his boyfriend. The look of contempt, as nasty as it appeared to be, left as fast as it was formed when he saw the current state his lover was in. Clearly distressed, the younger individual had buried his head within the confines of his Yami's school attire. Yugi seemed to be mimicking the actions of a baby bird, seeking security and protection from his millennium spirit in a juvenile fashion. He kept his face covered by the layers of blue and white garments, making it complicated for the pharaoh to know the condition of his significant other. Unaware that he was the individual who caused the emotional outburst, the violet-eyed male remained perplexed by the effect.  
  
"Tenshi?" called the Egyptian softly, tapping his hikari on the shoulder. "Ai no tenshi?"  
  
A heavy period of quietness fell upon the four-walled location, a grim sort of attitude that made the atmosphere change from uncomfortable to melancholy. Proceeding to pry further into his boyfriend's feelings, the taller individual spoke the pet name of his hikari once more.  
  
"Tenshi-ko, are you in there?" Brushing his lips against his koi's ear lobe, the millennium spirit whispered affectionately, "Aishiteru, Yugi- chan."  
  
That simple phrase seemed to have the desired outcome on the young boy. Sniffling back some unwanted sadness, he peered up at his one and only with complete and total adoration.  
  
"Really?" inquired the petite adolescent, his large purple eyes sparkling like the setting sun rays dancing on top of a body of water. "Do you mean it?"  
  
Cracking a tired smile, the pharaoh replied, "Of course I do! Do you doubt the way I feel about you?"  
  
"No, it's just that I thought you were mad at me, and I--well--um--" the teenage version of the master duelist blushed sheepishly, unwilling to admit to what he was thinking.  
  
"What? Mad at you?" repeated the ruler of the Nile, astounded by what he was listening to. "Where did you get a preposterous idea like that from?"  
  
Yugi lowered his head again, ashamed to explain his thought process. /Well, the truth is the truth.../ reasoned the child-like adolscent, analyzing his next response to his boyfriend. /He doesn't deserve to be lied to. Besides, I know he'd do the same for me, so we can always look forward to having a good relationship built on honesty. /  
  
Finding the courage to speak his mind, the small youth confessed, "You raised your voice at me and got kinda mean, Spirit. I didn't know what else to think, so I assumed you were angry at me." Gazing at his lover with calm sincerity, the shorter person apologized. "I'm so sorry."  
  
Narrowing his eyes skeptically, the Egyptian asked, "I...I actually raised my voice to you?"  
  
His hikari nodded wistfully, the tears beginning to resurface underneath his lids. "I know you did, Yami...and I 'm so very sorry for making you get that way--"  
  
"I don't remember that."  
  
"You have to, it only happened a few seconds ago--"  
  
"I'm telling you I don't remember that--any of that--to be precise."  
  
Staring at his millennium spirit in disbelief, the boy with tri-colored tresses explained the events between them with a sweet smile. "I was standing right here while we were conversing, and I didn't give you a direct enough response for one of your questions. After that, you got really loud and nearly yelled at me. It was kinda scary, now that I think about it." Taking in the vacant expression on his counterpart's visage, the adolescent's smile faded. "Are you okay today? You don't seem quite like yourself."  
  
Yami, having trouble comprehending everything that had supposedly transpired right under his nose, collapsed onto the springy mattress they shared. It didn't take long for his worried koibito to rush to his side, smothering him with love and attention that was meant for him alone. The school age teen, though he lacked the perfectly toned and developed body, made up the difference for his height by possessing a charitable heart that was priceless. With great care, the child-like adolescent lifted his loved one onto his lap. Setting the pharaoh's head upon his shoulder, Yugi's fingertips delicately nursed his boyfreind's throbbing flesh.  
  
"Feels like you have a headache here." murmured the youth with tri-colored tresses.  
  
Lifting a free hand, the ruler of the Nile weakly waved his hikari's words off.  
  
"It's nothing to be disturbed by. I'm fine." mumbled Yugioh, stifling a yawn.  
  
"You don't seem that way to me."  
  
Catching his koibito's wrist, the Egyptian eyed his high school equivalent nervously.  
  
"What do you mean by that?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, you just seem a little down these days, that's all." explained Yugi, giving his lover a reflective look. "I swear it has been forever since I saw your last smile."  
  
"Is that what this is all about?"  
  
"Yeah, pretty much." sighed the little boy, passing his slender hands through Yami's wild gothic strands. "You don't seem as happy as when we first started dating."  
  
/How can I be happy with an appearance like this?/ the master duelist thought dismally, picking at a piece of torn skin around one of his cuticles. I slave day after day to get my frame into shape, and all I get in return is endless nights of insomnia and horrible memory loss. Why? Why can't I look and feel as good as everyone else? Why is it that--/  
  
"Are you getting bored with me?" Yugi asked suddenly, interrupting the millennium spirit's self-loathing session.  
  
Snapping back into reality, Yami gave his koibito a funny look. "Excuse me?"  
  
"You are, aren't you?" the violet-eyed boy pressed further while lines of depression creased his brow.  
  
Yugioh, who was trying ever so valiantly to recall his lover's question, failed in his attempt to do so. His mind resembled a chalk board, a clean slate in which no writing ever appeared on it anymore. Before he could even construct a logical thought, some obscure eraser would mysteriously appear and wipe all of his ideas away. Barely anything was able to register in his brain, and that included phrases thick with amorous desire and shy sweethearts who wished to have someone care enough to return the affection they gave out so freely.  
  
"What did you say?" inquired the Egyptian lethargically, hoping that he could stay awake long enough to concentrate on his hikari's words.  
  
"I knew it!" cried the youthful counterpart, believing that his worst fear had come to pass. "I never wanted to see this day come, but now it has!"  
  
"Yugi, what's wrong?"  
  
"You're not even paying any attention to me!" the shorter individual pointed out, dropping his hands to his sides. "I'm trying to discuss a serious issue with you, and all you seem to want to do is blank out!"  
  
On the defensive end of the spectrum, Yami countered the best he could.  
  
"I don't know what's going on, but--"  
  
"You don't love me."  
  
Somehow, that single statement was able to get through the intense darkness fogging up the pharaoh's memories. The acidic remark tasted so sour in the back of his throat that his breath was taken away.  
  
"That's not true and you know it." protested the millennium spirit, still wounded by his koibito's hasty assumption.  
  
Yugi raised a contradictory eyebrow while folding his arms in front of himself.  
  
"You honestly expect me to believe that?" retorted the petite adolescent, his tone dubious.  
  
"Have I ever lied to you?" Yami shot back, grateful that he finally had a suitable response.  
  
"Well, no..."  
  
"Then I guess I must be telling the truth, right?"  
  
"I suppose so...if you can answer me this."  
  
Hoping that the torturous dialogue would stop, the Egyptian closed his eyes in aggravation.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What is today?" asked Yugi, regarding his counterpart coolly.  
  
"You know I'm terrible with dates!" moaned the millennium spirit, rolling his eyes towards the celing.  
  
"It's not the date that matters, but the occasion."  
  
"Oh, now that really does a lot for me." complained the amethyst-eyed male sarcastically. "You'd get a better response out of me if you had me recite the Declaration of Independence!"  
  
"So that's you're final answer? Clueless and proud of it?"  
  
"I'd rather be clueless than perpetually whiny." Yami responded darkly, rolling off of his boyfriend's legs.  
  
Yugioh's careless remark was taken as a violent slap in the face. The high schooler watched his koibito's uncoordinated movements...the style in which he carried himself, the manner in which he stumbled when he attempted a standing pose, and the obvious drain of mental and physical strength. In the early part of their partnership, the ruler of the Nile had such a great wealth of personality traits: his compassionate nature, his eloquent word usage, the utter brilliance inhabiting the depths of his mind was astounding, not to mention he was quite the attractive bachelor. With that sort of impeccable record, Yugi found the pharaoh from years past to be purely irresistable. And now...  
  
/Now he's not even a shadow of what he used to be like while we were going out together. / the petite adolescent realized, bothered by the radical change in his millennium spirit's behavior. /He's grown so distant from me lately, staying in his own little dimension half the time I try to speak to him. And the other half... / Catching a glimpse of his significant other laboriously dragging himself into a sitting position made the young boy wince. /I don't even know how to comment on that part of him...it's so out of character for him to behave like this. It--It's almost as if I don't know him anymore... /  
  
Nauseating reality was settling in the heart of Yugi Mutou, forcing him to view his lover from a different angle. Yami had practically turned into a stranger, leaving the violet-eyed boy to mourn the death of a figure that was not only a best friend to him, but also a noble role model. Placing both hands on his knees, the shorter individual rose mechanically.  
  
"Yugi, what are you doing?"  
  
Without paying any heed to the voice in the background, the tiny teen started for the bed room door.  
  
"What are you doing?" someone repeated in the distance, this time more insistently. "Why?"  
  
/These past months have been hell. / thought the petite adolescent, reflecting on all the seperate occasions when he had tried--oh, heavens yes, did he ever try--to break into that dim dark world of his yami's, only to discover upon arrival that the king's head was home to nothing but a cracked wasteland. /If I stay, things will only get worse. /  
  
Finally understanding the intentions of his hikari, the pharaoh picked himself off of the floor. Swaying on his feet, the king of Egypt felt as if someone had submerged him in deep sea water and stripped him of his oxygen supply. The area he was residing in spun madly before him, material objects and furniture in the room combined themselves to create one huge abstract mosaic. Shaking off the internal dizziness he acquired from jumping up out of his location on the ground, the amethyst-eyed male gazed pitifully at his soul mate.  
  
"Yugi, please..." begged the master duelist, desperate for a civil response, "...give me one more chance. I promise I'll make it up to you. Just don't do this...don't leave me here by myself..."  
  
Pausing in the middle of the door way, the smaller person turned back around. For an instant, the two lovers faced each other, both wearing equally wretched masks of greif. The two sets of violet orbs, which once reflected the other partner's hopes, dreams, goals, and ambitions, now showed nothing but the ominous sparkle of affairs yet to be resolved. Yugi passed his hand over his engagement ring, idly observing as his counterpart followed suit. They knew what was going to occur next, but neither of them had the audacity to vocalize it.  
  
/It took me three years of my life to get this... / Yugi mused, staring at the piece of jewelry glistening in the lamp light. /and it's going to take me less than a minute to give it back. /  
  
Squeezing his eyes shut, the boy with tri-colored tresses prepared himself for what he was about to do.  
  
"Oh, gods, Tenshi-chan..." whispered Yami sadly, fingering his own ring. "...no...please..."  
  
A shiny tear trickled down the petite adolescent's cheek, an emotional sign that symbolized that there was no turning back now.  
  
/I--I don't want to do this either...but I have to, Spirit. I have to, for the both of us. /  
  
Swallowing down the hard lump of defeat, the amethyst-eyed Egyptian watched his hikari slip off the one material object that binded their hearts and souls together for eternity. In one steady movement, Yugi set the ring on a nearby dresser, close to a picture taken of them on the afternoon they decided to get engaged. Catching a glimpse of the cherished photograph, the school age boy lifted it from the surface of the furniture.  
  
"We looked so happy then..." commented the teary-eyed teen, giving his millennium spirit a broken smile. "...so pretty, so much in love..."  
  
Finding the strength to speak, the taller individual said softly, "I love you...I'll always love you."  
  
Crystal depths flooded the shorter person's vision, threatening to spill over his lids at any given moment. He touched his fingers to his lips, trying desperately to hold on to his composure.  
  
"I love you, too, Spirit--"  
  
"Then why are you abandoning me?" asked the pharaoh, his expression drawn and forlorn.  
  
"I'm not the one who abandoned you, Yami." Yugi stated in a half assertive, half shattered accent. "You're the one who abandoned me."  
  
Fighting back the incredible urge to run blindly from the premesis, the boy with tri-colored tresses calmly exited the living space with his dignity intact.  
  
"Yugi!" cried the male with purple orbs in a terrible heart-breaking plea. "Wait! Come back! YUGI!"  
  
Dropping to his knees, the Egyptian wrapped his arms around himself. Rocking back and forth, he cradled himself in the dangerous grasp of self- destruction, the sweet surrender which is inadvertently referred to as insanity.  
  
/He's right, though.../ agreed the pharaoh, pressing his forehead against his knees. /I've been neglecting him, dismissing his wants and needs, just flat out showing him that I couldn't give a damn if he ever left me...and look what happened, he finally did. / Feeling a familiar wetness on his face, he gripped his skeletal frame tighter. /At last, I've succeeded in driving him away from me. I've been pushing him away since the moment we declared to our friends we were going out--/  
  
Out of no where, the significance of the day struck him like a bolt of wisdom-filled lightening.  
  
"So that's what today was..." breathed the frail male, realizing the fervent emphasis Yugi placed on the twenty-four hour segment, "a year later since we first started seeing each other. It's the time that commemorates the hour in which we proclaimed our undying love for each other. It's our anniversary."  
  
Without looking, the amethyst eyed individual slipped his own engagement ring off. His fingers toyed with the perfect silver band, relishing the silky texture of the silver alloy.  
  
" 'Till death do us part, Ai no Tenshi..." intoned the Egyptian, his violet orbs shimmering sorrowfully.  
  
Grasping the fact that he would never be able to bring his lover to the alter to whisper that divine phrase, Yami wept for the sin of thrusting his one and only love away from him. 


	3. I Will Always Love You

I Will Always Love You…

__

/I deserve this…/

Peeling back one of his satiny sleeves, Yami revealed the frail flesh that was hidden underneath. Chalky and slightly gray in appearance, his skin resembled the deteriorating corpses found in a morgue. He was a walking zombie, not just in physical terms, but in the mental fashion, too. Painfully thin and deathly frightening on the outside, suffering from memory lapses and emotional trauma and drama on the inside. It was too much to take--entirely too much to stomach by himself. If only his gentle, fun-loving hikari were sitting beside him right now, holding him, hugging him, whispering sweet nothings in his ear that everything would work out eventually--

/because I hurt him. /

But things wouldn't magically fall back into place now. The pieces of his sennen puzzle-like heart had been shattered, the golden shards scattered throughout the depths of the icy abyss he knew his soul to be. His spirit had to be that dark, that callous and cruel, to destroy the beautiful relationship he tried so desperately to hold onto. 

/I devastated him. /

His amethyst orbs stared out into the emptiness of the bedroom, completely expressionless as they shifted their gaze from one object to another, items that spelled out the pending demise of a couple that claimed that God Himself could not tear them apart. Briefly glancing at the image standing on its own on the dresser, the wild events of the day invaded his mind, interrupting his already terrible breathing cycle. Small, cherub-like fingers brushing over the photograph, a cheerless smile that longed for dreams that could never come true, large, purple orbs swimming in terrifying sorrow…they were visions of reality in all of its horrifying glory, sequences in the past which had just occurred in a matter of minutes, but felt like they had erupted lifetimes ago. Time had literally lost all meaning for the millennium spirit, for he had merely succumbed to the morose maelstrom of shadows and rain just to belong somewhere. Yugi cast him out of the warmth and security of his embrace, leaving him to wander the landscape of his private chambers. 

/He has no place for me in his heart anymore. /

That was a realm far more dangerous than the gloomy alleyways veering off into select, dilapidated cities. Loneliness and isolation ran rampant through the corridors of his head, dominating his actions, controlling the aspects of his entire being. And it wounded him--totally frightened him--that he'd have to revert back to the same bleak individual he was before he had ever met his significant other…

/Stop kidding yourself. I'm as terrible as I always was--/

Lifting a shaky hand to his arm, he settled the limb on the nearly transparent covering that was stretched over his bones. He winced at the amount of pressure that was being applied to his arm, not even truly understanding how much he had severely damaged his body. All he was capable of comprehending was the anguish he had contaminated his partnership with, absolutely loathing how much of an infectious little parasite his misery grew to be. This self-hatred would never end. It would never cease to twist his dreams into nightmares, destroy his conscience, or wreak havoc on his pain strained soul. It was always there, the tears, the desolation, the horrible feeling of crazy sadness that would one day consume him whole…maybe even on a day like this, where there was no hope of recovery.

/I'm as terrible as I always will _be. /_

Without warning, he tensed his fingers and dragged them down his arm; cutting into the soft reserve of tissue he had left. A thick, sticky substance streaked its way down his skin, forming its own identifiable river that flowed onto his legs. Disregarding the unidentified fluid, Pharaoh struck himself again, ripping open the base of his wrist with crimson covered claws. Strangely enough, the throbbing of his shredded skin didn't register in his brain. He was trapped within the hallways of his head, stepping off into oblivion, deviating from the plane of materialism to fall victim to silence. Ever-lasting quietness. A dimension where no one could hear him scream, wipe his tears from his visage, or smell the disgusting stench of the liquid dripping from his veins. Not a single soul would be subjected to his vile capacity to make loved ones abhor him, nor would they be forced to endure such a sick sight. Now everyone, even his hikari, could sleep better tonight…because he would see to it that he didn't plague the dreams of the innocent anymore. 

/Die…/

Empty amethyst orbs gazed into the darkness of space, seeing only the endless boundaries of eternity. Normally, twinkling stars dazzled the nether regions of the cosmos, but not today. Not in this dispirited individual's mind. Like everything, there was a time and place for the childish accents life had to offer-- flower petals in the wind, the sparkle of an angel's wings, shared lollipops and milkshakes in a diner--but this wasn't one of them. Those candy fantasy wishes had perished when the petite schoolboy had walked out of the living quarters, taking every hope, dream, and promise made to Yami with him. Those happily created wishes were like a star, a glittering shooting star that lit up Pharaoh's eyes one second, then left as abruptly as it had appeared. No more, now. No more faith, no trust, not even a tiny ray of hope sparkled in his dull purple orbs. He was as dead as the crystal chasm he imagined, the vast void of blackness so thick with despair and remorse that it swallowed him completely. There, he would bounce from one desolate desert to another, exploring the dunes of infinity for what he lacked so greatly, but could never seem to hold onto…

/Just die already. Drop dead so no one has to put up with me anymore. Exterminate this existence so I can forget that I ever came onto this earth and fell in love…/

While ripping at the length of his arm, the gothic-haired male felt his lids began to flutter. His sight opened woozily one moment, then closed the next, resembling what electricity displays during a power outage. At last, obscure darkness was blinding his vision; the electrician inside his head was executing the final actions in shutting his system down. Positioning his hand over the discolored flesh once more, he set his nails on top of the gash, felt the slippery runnel of red beneath his fingertips, and paused temporarily. This should have been one of those scenarios where the dying individual starts to see their life flash before their eyes, but this wasn't the case for the king of the Nile. Instead of viewing the most important instances that transpired in his existence, his mind registered the mental picture of a charming little child, treading across the white shores of a beach while holding his hand. Showing him a smile that would make a devil convert to sainthood, the teenage angel glowed with a radiance that rivaled the moon's splendor. Allowing his lids to slowly shut, the petite adolescent took his lover's face into his hands, tenderly stroking the fine details of his boyfriend's visage. Then, just as the sun began to set, he inched up onto his toes, drew close to his soul mate, and--

/The clock struck midnight, and Cinderella vanished from my sight…/

Breathing in one final laborious breath, Prince Charming toppled over, slapping his delicate head against the floor. Once again, he was the nameless nobleman who had lived thousands of years ago, thrust back into the kingdom of gods and pharaohs to slumber in the shady sarcophagus of perpetuity. His trembling fist, the same one that had raked deep into his skin, could finally stretch out and relax. There, lying in the palm of his freshly opened hand, lay two engagement rings. Both glassy objects were a symbol of the fairytale-like romance that had existed before time; a stunning bond that came into effect with love at first sight, but tragically disappeared once the spell of affection wore off. But no matter how long he had condemned himself to wander under the Sahara sun, the mysterious soul known as Yami would never go a day without thinking about his one and only love, the desert rose who had sprang up out of his gardens of sand just to show him the importance of cherishing and treasuring the joys of friendship. Those vows of intimacy would always be with him, playing like a child in his heart, whispering to him some sweet, wonderful secret that he promised to share with whomever he came across. 

"Want to now what the secret is?" the gothic-haired individual asked the possessions in his residence, barely able to feel his lips move anymore. "You have to promise to pass it along once I tell you--"

Even though his voice gave out, the Egyptian still mouthed the words that Yugi had whispered to him that fabled day by the sea.

/Even as I draw my last sigh, when it's time to say good-bye, and my existence on this plane draws nigh…I will always love you…/


End file.
